Electrical Tape Bikinis Are Apparently All the Rage in Rio
In order to avoid unattractive tan lines, women are going to extremes in Rio. How ‘extreme,’ exactly? Using electrical tape as a bikini. (Ouch?!)
“Here’s where you get the white tan lines that make all the women jealous,” Rio de Janeiro resident Alexandra da Silva Prazeres told the Associated Press of the relatively new practice, which has been spotted oceanside and in tanning salons, alike.
The fad began as part of a quest of sorts by Brazilian women to achieve a tan line so crisp and straight, it could have been drawn on the skin using a ruler. Because “beauty is in the eye of the beholder” may be a cliche, but that doesn’t mean it’s not true.
So, while this maybe shouldn’t be tried at home, here’s how to DIY: First, a piece of gauze is placed over a woman’s private parts in an effort to avoid any pain upon the tapes’s later removal. Next, strips of electrical tape are layered on the skin in the shape of a bikini, and small pieces of wet paper towels are placed over parts of the tape, ensuring that, unlike a cloth bikini that will move on the body throughout the day, the sticky tape will stay in one place to create those desired tan lines.
As for the tapes’s eventual removal, Brazilians have their country’s high temperatures and resulting sweat to thank for its supposed relative painlessness. Still, “you must have a lot of determination because it’s tough,” 36-year-old sunbather Miriam Rodrigues told the AP of sporting the look in the heat. “But we can handle it.”
“We look sexier, it boosts our ego, and it looks prettier,” added 22-year-old Milena Carvalho. “It’s the Brazilian woman’s trademark.” But dermatologists warning against sun damage and the increased risk of getting skin cancers, including melanoma, associated with sunbathing, aren’t too sure about the trend. And neither are social media users.
When Good Day Chicago anchor Natalie Bomke posted a video the show had made concerning the trend to her Facebook page this morning, the response was immediate.
“I don’t really see the advantage to doing this at all,” wrote one commenter. “Cancel my appointment! Youch!!!” said another. Others couldn’t help but see the humor in it all: “Laughed so hard, I spit out my coffee!” posted a viewer.
Oh, and if you were thinking about trying the trend with duct tape, one helpful commenter issued a PSA: “That will definitely leave a mark lol umm no thnx.”
But fear not, lovers of sunkissed skin, there are other options: if you’d like to skip the tape and check out a little self-tanner, instead, we’ve got you covered.
Related: 7 of the Craziest Beauty Pageants Around the World
Let’s keep in touch! Follow Yahoo Beauty on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Pinterest.
